Recently, Mediamouse.org learned that the law firm Warner Norcross & Judd, based in Grand Rapids, is representing Kennecott Minerals in its legal efforts to gain approval for a controversial sulfide mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Warner Norcross & Judd, located in the Fifth Third Building in downtown Grand Rapids, provides a West Michigan connection to the proposed sulfide mine.
Warner Norcross & Judd has been representing Kennecott for several years according to information found online. Currently the firm is representing Kennecott in a case challenging the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) decision to grant Kennecott a permit for the sulfide mine. Plaintiffs with the National Wildlife Federation, Huron Mountain Club, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community have charged that Kennecott's mine has several technical deficiencies that will lead to pollution and destruction of the environment. The case, which has been ongoing for three weeks, is expected to take an additional two weeks according to media reports. Following the decision, it can be appealed to the Ingham County Circuit Court.
Two attorneys representing Kennecott, Eugue Smary and Dennis J. Donohue, wrote an article in 2006 in the Michigan Environmental Law Journal praising the regulations that allowed sulfide mining in Michigan. Smary had "significant involvement" in the passage of the regulations according to Warner Norcross & Judd's website. While the regulations were written with input from environmentalists, environmentalists have said that the sulfide mine violates those regulations.
However, it is not just this sulfide mine that the Grand Rapids law firm has helped defend. Its website touts the fact that it acts as counsel to several mining companies both in the United States and internationally. Warner Norcross & Judd also represents the Michigan Aggregates Association, a trade group and political action committee (PAC) representing gravel and mineral interests. The law firm--along with Kennecott--is also part of the Michigan Chemistry Council, another business advocacy group that works on regulatory and legislative issues in Lansing.
